JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State baseball team dropped its first ASUN contest of the season with a 10-5 setback to Eastern Kentucky in the series opener between the top-two teams in the ASUN West Division on Friday night at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.

With the loss, the Gamecocks fall to 12-12 overall and 6-1 in ASUN action, while the Colonels improved to 19-8 on the season and moved into a tie atop the division standings at 6-1 with JSU. The series continues on Saturday with another contest under the lights with first pitch set for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and carried on the Gamecock Sports Network. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSports.com and JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.

EKU broke up a 1-1 tie in the two innings in the third and broke open the game with a four-run fourth inning on a grand slam by EKU's Logan Thomason after a Jax State miscue opened the door for Colonels to have a big inning. EKU roughed up Gamecock starter Isaiah Magwood with seven hits and six runs in the outing, but only two of the runs was earned. EKU extended the lead with a run in the sixth, two more in the seventh and the final run of the night in the ninth. Magwood was handed his first loss of the season, while EKU's Michael Schuler picked up the win. Schuler went seven innings and allowed three runs.

The Colonels needed the late runs as the Gamecocks put together a rally in their last chance at the plate and had the tying run on deck when EKU recorded the final out.

Senior Isaac Alexander delivered a pair of RBI in the loss, highlighted by a solo home run to start the JSU seventh inning. Alexander had a two-RBI in the second to tie the game at 1-1 and his second home run of the season in his third at bat. Junior Carson Crowe finished the night with a team-best three hits with three singles, including an RBI base hit the opposite field in the ninth. Senior Alex Carignan singled in the first and added an RBI single in the fifth.

Junior T.J. Reeves extended streak of reaching base to 13 consecutive games with a double in the ninth. Reeves has now reached base in 23-of-the-24 games this season.

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